Streetlight
by Hokuto-chan
Summary: Second story of out three. ^__^ Aoki/Karen fic, set in same time period as "Starlight." Aoki and Karen go out for coffee and then walk around a bit. ^_~


Streetlight  
  
  
(Second story out of three)  
Standard disclaimers: I don't own X, or any of the characters in the fic.  
Genre: Christmas fluff.  
Warning: ....there is none. Wow. Aoki/Karen little(very little) Christmas fic. ^__^ Probably OOC, grownups aren't my thing.  
Christmas present for Kerianne. Hope you like!  
  
~  
  
"I'll see you later," Yuzuriha Nekoi said as she ran down the street, waving back at Karen Kasumi and Seiichirou Aoki.  
  
Karen smiled and waved back, then turned toward the man. "Do you want to go and maybe have a cup of coffee? She woke up us much too early. Only one cup isn't going to cut it."  
  
Seiichirou nodded. "Sure." The two adults walked down the sidewalk, heading toward a nearby coffee shop, only one of few stores open, since it was Christmas and the earthquakes had left many places in rubble. Karen shivered slightly, she hadn't been expecting to be outside for more then a few minutes, and not even her pyronetic powers warmed her up in this cold. Seiichirou noticed and took off his jacket, placing it around her shoulders. She glanced up at him.  
  
"I'm fine, Aoki-san." She said, and tried to give it back to him. He refused.  
  
"I can't let a lady freeze to death, can I?"  
  
Karen laughed. "If I die, I doubt it will be by freezing." She opened the door of the shop and walked in before he could comment. They walked to an empty table and sat down. When the waitress came to place their order, they ordered two simple black coffees, good for warming up with.   
  
"So." Karen said, as they were waiting for their coffee. "Were you able to get a hold of Shimako?"  
  
Seiichirou sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Yes...she's going to go see her mother today. Yuka-chan hasn't seen her in a while, not for a year or so, actually, and Shimako thought it would be best if she saw her for Christmas." He said, more to convince himself then to inform her.  
  
Karen leaned over and patted his hand. "I'm sure that Shimako and Yuka miss you. They'll probably come and see you tomorrow or something."  
  
Seiichirou nodded. "I know, but...this is the first Christmas since Yuka-chan was born that I haven't spent with my family..." He sighed deeply and look angsty, or about as close as he would get to that. "I miss them a lot...but with the End of the World...there's not a lot of time I get to see them..."  
  
Karen nodded. "Well, it looks like the Dragons of Earth have quieted down for the holidays...winter hibernation, perhaps?" She smiled. "You'll have lots of time to see them." Before she could go any further, the waitress arrived with their coffee. They thanked her and sat in the shop in relative silence, simply sipping their coffee.  
  
"Karen-san?" Seiichirou asked, putting down his cup. "You're a Christian, aren't you?"  
  
Karen looked up. "...Yes, I am."  
  
"How did you celebrate Christmas when you were younger?" Seiichirou asked, curious.  
  
"I don't remember ever having a good Christmas..." Karen said, lowering her eyes to the table so he wouldn't see how troubled they were. "My mother...was always kind on Christmas and even though we didn't really have much money, always tried to give me at least one present, but she..." Karen trailed off, not knowing how to explain without telling him of her past.  
  
"Ah..." Seiichirou was at a loss for words, something very common for him. He patted her hand and Karen looked up, smiling too cheerfully.  
  
"Let's not talk about the past, though! It's Christmas. Let's talk about today and the future."   
  
Seiichirou looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "So," he said, trying to think of a topic to talk about. "How has work been recently?"  
  
"Rather slow...many men at this time of year are with their families..."  
  
The two talked about different topics, work, the other Dragons of Heaven, even about the weather. (They lived together, I mean, there wouldn't be very much news at home they could inform the other about, no?). Seiichirou glanced out the window and realized that it was getting darker outside. He looked at his watch.  
  
"Oh no!" He cringed. "We've been out here for nearly 5 hours now!"   
  
Karen looked up at a clock in a corner of the shop. "So it is....my, how the time flies." She stood up. "Should we go back by now? I'm sure Sorata and Arashi are up and I was going to tell him there was a party tonight."  
  
Seiichirou nodded, but said. "Kamui's already told him by now, probably. Do you want to go around and look at lights perhaps?" Karen nodded and two adults left their cups on the table, payed their bill(Well, Seiichirou did at least) and left.  
  
As they walked down the street, Karen noticed her breath was visible in the air. She blew slightly, watching her breath linger in the air before fading. She was still wearing Seiichirou's jacket, and pulled it tighter around her. She really should have dressed for the holidays, instead of her usual attire. After a while, she looked at Seiichirou and noticed he was shivering slightly, although he was trying hard not to let it show.  
  
"Aoki-san, here's your jacket back. I'll be fine." She took it off her shoulders and drapped it over his, smiling at the slightly flustered look on his face when she got close to him.   
  
Seiichirou shook his head and started to take his jacket off. "I insist..."  
  
Karen shook her head firmly and placed her finger on her nose, giggling at the look on his face. "I'm fine. And we won't be out here long..." He still looked hestitate, so on a whim(which she smacked herself mentally for) she said, "If you're so worried, we could share it."  
  
He flushed again, and looked down at her. Then shrugged, "Alright." and slid his arm around her shoulders. Karen blinked but recovered quickly and slid her arm around his waist.   
  
"There." she smiled. "Isn't that good?"  
  
Seiichirou was blushing too hard to reply.  
  
~  
  
They walked around the more desolated areas of the CLAMP Academy for a while, looking at decorations or the scenery. Karen wasn't cold anymore, and Seiichirou didn't feel cold to the touch(though that may have only been because he blushed everytime she touched him), so she was quite content to stay out longer.  
  
However, she thought as she glanced toward Seiichirou's watch, they had be going soon. It was getting late and the other Dragon's were probably wondering where they were. She voiced this concern to Seiichirou.  
  
"Do you want me to call and tell them we're on our way?" He took his arm from around her shoulders, exposing her to the cold air and reached into his pocket to take out his cell phone. She nodded and looked around them as he made the call. They were rather far away from the mansion, on the outskirts of a small wooded area, the only things shining through the darkness were the moon and stars above and streetlights that were hanging on the side of the sidewalk. It was very pretty, and she couldnt' remember a better Christmas. Sighing softly to herself, she wrapped her arms around her shoulders and twirled around lightly, ignoring Seiichirou as he hung up the phone and said her name.  
  
"Karen-san?" Seiichirou asked, watching the woman. She looked at him, red curls framing her face, flushed from the cold. He smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulders again. "We'd better hurry up. Arashi is all alone with Sorata, and I seem to feel there's something special that's going to happen."  
  
Karen nodded. "Let's go, then. I'm starting to get cold again. I need some more coffee and a sweater." Seiichirou nodded in agreement and the two adults made their way down the sidewalk.  
  
Karen stopped under a streetlight and looked at the windmaster. He blinked, clueless and looked back at her. She smiled. "I can't remember a Christmas where I had more fun then this one. And thank you for spending time with me." She looked down and blushed slightly. "I love those kids dearly, but it's nice be able to spend time with a person my age. Merry Christmas" She looked at him, fighting back the blush at the site of his face.  
  
Seiichirou smiled. "Same here. Merry Christmas." Then to her surprise, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. She blinked, hoped that he would dismiss her blush as simply the cold. He gave a sheepish grin to her and started to pull her along the sidewalk. "Come on...they're probably wondering where we are."  
  
Karen nodded, still a little dazed by that kiss. She knew it was nothing more than a friendly kiss and didn't want it to be any thing more(well, maybe she did want that, but in the future), but she was happy.  
  
As they ran, alternating between the darkness and the artificial light from the light lamps, all Karen could think was. "This has been a Merry Christmas, indeed."  
  
~  
  
  
Meep. Did that suck too horribly?  
Comments and critisism welcome!  
  
Merry Christmas 


End file.
